Socialist ideas adopted by a new generation

The ‘most boring election’ in history ended with a far-from boring election night. Two main factors drove the election process – a burning desire to punish New Labour and Tony Blair in particular – and a horror of Howard winning the election.

For Socialist Party members up and down the country this was the best election campaign we have ever been involved in.

In four weeks we raised over £11,000 for our fighting fund. This money was made up of tens of thousands small donations from workers and young people who wanted to assist our campaign.

We sold record numbers of The Socialist in many parts of the country. Most importantly of all our raised profile meant that more people found out about socialist ideas – our leaflets reached more than 700,000 households – and many people – especially young people – have joined us in the struggle for socialism as a result.

Election results

Electorally, we achieved some creditable results. In Coventry North East Councillor Dave Nellist received 1874 (5%). In Coventry South Rob Windsor received 1097 (2.7%).

In London's Lewisham Deptford Councillor Ian Page received 742 (2.4%).

In Newcastle East, standing for the first time, Bill Hopwood gained 582 votes (1.8%).

In London's Walthamstow constituency Nancy Taaffe received 727 (2.4%). But our vote in no way reflected the support we found for our ideas.

Anxious to give Blair a bloody nose, people who would have liked to vote for us instead looked for a party that they felt could inflict damage on New Labour nationally.

The Liberal Democrats – as one of the three mainstream parties (and in some areas the Greens) – were seen as the most viable means to do so by many.

Other workers voted Labour out of fear of a Tory victory, despite agreeing 100% with our description of New Labour as a party of the fat-cats.

Fear of Tory victory

However, where people felt free to vote on the basis of whose ideas they liked best, we came out extremely well.

In a Newsnight piece where candidates were interviewed be members of the public without their parties being known our candidate came second out of fifteen. And in a number of debates in schools, the Socialist Party came first or second in the vote.

But it wasn’t only amongst young people that we struck a chord. Pensioners also approached us inspired to see a new generation of young people take up the struggle for socialism.

For example, one woman, the wife of a Labour councillor, came up to us to say how happy she was to discover that socialism hadn’t died when Blairism destroyed it in the Labour Party – and that, in fact, socialist ideas were being adopted by a new generation.

This election marks a turning point in Britain. The next Labour government will be far weaker and more unstable than previous ones but this will not prevent them launching an onslaught of privatisation and cuts on the working class.

In seat after seat, as other candidates limited themselves to pleasantries, our candidates warned New Labour that workers are going to fight back against their Tory policies – and socialists will be at the fore of those struggles.

Details of Socialist Party results

Results for Socialist Alternative - the electoral name of the Socialist Party

East Midlands

Leicester West Steve Score: 552 (1.7%)

London

Lewisham Deptford Councillor Ian Page: 742 (2.4%)

Walthamstow Nancy Taaffe: 727 (2.1%)

North-East

Newcastle East and Wallsend William Hopwood: 582 (1.8%)

North-West

Wythenshawe and Sale East Lynn Worthington: 369 (1.0%)

Bootle Peter Glover: 655 (2.5%)

South-East

Brighton Kemptown Phil Clarke: 113 (0.3%)

South-West

Bristol North West Graeme Jones: 565 (1.2%)

Wales

Swansea West Robert Williams: 288 (0.87%)

Cardiff South and Penarth Dave Bartlett: 269 (0.7%)

West Midlands

Coventry South Rob Windsor: 1,097 (2.7%)

Coventry North East Councillor Dave Nellist: 1,874 (5.04%)

Coventry North West Nicola Downes: 615 (1.4%)

Birmingham Northfields Louise Houldey: 120 (0.38%)

Stoke-on-Trent Central Jim Cessford: 246 (0.9%)

Yorkshire

Sheffield Heeley Mark Dunnell: 265 (0.77%)

Wakefield Mick Griffiths: 319 (0.7%)

Time for new workers' party

Galloway election victory shocks Blair

Socialist ideas adopted by new generation

Stormclouds gather over Labour's 3rd term

Socialist Green Unity Coalition: other results

The Socialist Party was part of the Socialist Green Unity Coalition for this election. Here are other results:

Nottingham East - Peter Ratcliffe - 373

Swindon North - Andy Newman - 208

Kensington and Chelsea - Eddie Adams - 101

Liverpool Wavertree - Paul Filby - 227

Brighton Pavillion - Tony Greenstein - 188

Crawley - Robin Burnham - 263

Walsall North - Pete Smith - 770

Pontefract and Castleford - Bob Hague - 470

International Socialists (CWI, Scotland - standing as Scottish Socialist Party candidates)

Glasgow South - Ronnie Stevenson - 1,303

Dundee West - Jim McFarlane - 994

Angus - Alan Manley - 556

Dundee East - Harvey Duke - 537

Edinburgh West - Gary Clark - 510

Perth and North Perthshire - Philip Stott - 509

Independents make their mark

ANTI-WAR CAMPAIGNERS Reg Keys and Rose Gentle - both of whom lost a son, killed while serving in the British armed forces in Iraq - stood as independent candidates in the election.

Reg, a former ambulance worker, contested Tony Blair's Sedgefield seat winning 4,252 votes (10.3%). Reg's election count speech, accusing the prime minister of having blood on his hands over the Iraq war, made Blair squirm visibly.

Rose Gentle standing in East Kilbride against armed forces minister, Adam Ingram, gained 1,213 votes (3.1%).

Craig Murray, Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan, stood against foreign secretary Jack Straw, winning 2,082 votes (5%). Murray was removed from his post after accusing Blair's government of ignoring evidence of torture of opponents of the Uzbekistan regime.

Richard Taylor, the former hospital consultant who won Wyre Forest from Labour in 2001 standing against hospital closures, was comfortably re-elected with 18,739 votes (40%).

Wales Assembly member Peter Law, dumped by the national Labour Party who imposed a Blairite candidate on the constituency party, won Blaenau Gwent as an independent with a massive 9,121-vote majority.

Time for new workers' party

Galloway election victory shocks Blair

Socialist ideas adopted by new generation

Stormclouds gather over Labour's 3rd term

Analysis: Blair’s last election

Home | The Socialist 6 - 11 May 2005 | Join the Socialist Party

Subscribe | Donate | Bookshop